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Previously published as The Essential Rumi, Rumi's Selected Poems is translated by Coleman Barks with John Moyne in Penguin Classics. Thirteenth-century Persian philosopher, mystic, scholar and founder of the order of the Whirling Dervishes, Jelaluddin Rumi was also a poet of transcendental power. His inspirational verse speaks with the universal voice of the human soul and brims with exuberant energy and passion. Rich in natural imagery from horses to fishes, flowers to birds and rivers to stars, the poems have an elemental force that has remained undiminished through the centuries. Their themes - tolerance, goodness, the experience of God, charity and awareness through love - still resonate with millions of readers around the world. Coleman Barks's vibrant translation conveys the directness and originality of Rumi's poetry. This edition is divided into thematic sections, each with an introduction, and includes a biographical essay on Rumi. Called 'Jelaluddin Rumi' by the Persians and Afghans, Rumi (1207-1273) was born in Balkh, Afghanistan, then part of the Persian Empire. He was the greatest mystical poet of Persia, famous for his didactic epic Masnavi-ye Ma'navi (Spiritual Couplets), a treasure-house of Sufi mysticism. If you enjoyed Selected Poems, you might like Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet, also available in Penguin Modern Classics. 'Coleman Barks has provided a version of Rumi that sparkles and never flags ...both and otherworldly' John Ryle, Guardian No translator could do greater justice to the gorgeous simplicity of Rumi's poetry than Coleman Barks has done here. These exquisite renderings of the 13th-century Persian mystic's words into American free verse capture all the "inner searching, the delicacy, and simple groundedness" that characterize Rumi's poetry while remaining faithful to the images, tone, and spiritual message of the originals. Barks's introductions to each of the 27 sections (described as "playful palimpsests spread over Rumi's imagination," and "meant to confuse scholars who would divide Rumi's poetry into the accepted categories") are themselves wonderful achievements of a poetic imagination; searching explanations of unfamiliar concepts and funny stories provide colorful background and frame the selections as no dry historical exegesis could.

While Barks's stamp on this collection is clear, it in no way interferes with the poems themselves; Rumi's voice leaps off these pages with an ecstatic energy that leaves readers breathless. There are poems of love, rage, sadness, pleading, and longing; passionate outbursts about the torture of longing for his beloved and the sweet pleasure that comes from their union; amusing stories of sexual exploits or human weakness; and quiet truths about the beauty and variety of human emotion. More than anything, Rumi makes plain the unbridled joy that comes from living life fully, urging us always to put aside our fears and take the risk to do so. As he says: "The way of love is not / a subtle argument. / The door there is devastation. / Birds make great sky-circles / of their freedom. / How do they learn it? / They fall, and falling, / they're given wings." --Uma Kukathas

The Illuminated Prayer: The Five-Times Prayer of the Sufis

Manufacturer: Ballantine Books

The Prayer is a drawing of the curtain, an invitation to a secret place that is discovered and explored. . . .According to tradition and the testimony of Sufi mystics, The Prayer--or Salat--was first taught by the angels, who themselves practiced it in celestial adoration. The Prayer is God's gift to all humankind, and in this gorgeously illustrated volume, its simple, archetypal practice unfolds like a fragrant, many-petaled flower, joining words and movements into a single luminous event that engages our entire being.These ancient rituals are presented here as a gift for anyone with a heartfelt desire to set aside for a moment the concerns of every day and enter a sacred time and space in which to explore the beckonings of the spirit. The authors take us through the words, movements, and hidden meanings of the Call to Prayer, the Ablutions, The Prayer itself, and the Peaceful Embrace afterwards. Faithful practice lends a sacred rhythm to each day and creates a psychological force that helps us nurture and e...

Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship

In this book readers are led on a powerful and inspiring journey through the inner dimensions of a range of Islamic acts, including prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage.Consisting of a selection of writings by a great figure in Islamic history, Imam al-Ghazali, this book helps readers realize the benefits of the upliftment of their spiritual, social, and moral qualities.Al-Ghazali (1058â€“1111), a towering figure in Islam, was born at Tus, near Mashhad in Iran, in the early Seljuq era. He wrote a large number of works, of which his magnum opus was the Ihya' Ulum al-Din compiled during his period of retirement and contemplation.

The Book of Assistance

Manufacturer: Fons Vitae
Brand: Brand: Fons Vitae

There are many books in English that present Sufi doctrine, but few that can be used as practical travel guides along the Path. Originally written in classical Arabic, this volume is in widespread use among Sufi teachers in Arabia, Indonesia, and East Africa; its devotions, prayers, and practical ethics are invaluable as a guide along the Sufi Way.

Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World (Islamic Civilization and Muslim Networks)

Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press

Avoiding the traps of sensational political exposes and specialized scholarly Orientalism, Carl Ernst introduces readers to the profound spiritual resources of Islam while clarifying diversity and debate within the tradition. Framing his argument in terms of religious studies, Ernst describes how Protestant definitions of religion and anti-Muslim prejudice have affected views of Islam in Europe and America. He also covers the contemporary importance of Islam in both its traditional settings and its new locations and provides a context for understanding extremist movements like fundamentalism. He concludes with an overview of critical debates on important contemporary issues such as gender and veiling, state politics, and science and religion.

Treatise For The Seekers Of Guidance

Manufacturer: NID Publishers
Brand: Brand: NID Publishers

The translation, notes, and commentary of Imam al-Harith al-Muhasibiâ€™s Risala al-Mustarshidin (Treatise For The Seekers Of Guidance) by Zaid Shakir is intended to serve as a laymanâ€™s guide to Islamic spirituality. Al - Muhasibi presents most of the major ideas that would both serve as the basis for a full program of spiritual development and comprise an insightful overview of a system of Islamic moral psychology. He examines in great depth and penetrating insight the psychological motivations and justifications for moral thought and action and correspondingly the associated bases of immorality. In so doing, he has provided a road map that any person can follow to overcome the guiles of his fundamental enemies: the world, the ego, the whims of the soul, and Satan.

Living Presence: A Sufi Way to Mindfulness & the Essential Self

Manufacturer: TarcherPerigee
Brand: Brand: Tarcher

"This is an excellent book that explains spiritual principles and how to carry them into everyday life . . . Highly recommended."â€”Library Journal Sufism is a centuries-old spiritual psychology leading to presence in life. Presence is our capacity to be whole in the moment, in alignment with our deepest wisdom. With unusual clarity, this book describes how presence is different from ordinary habits of mind, and how it can be developed. Drawing on the words of the great Sufi, Rumi, as well as traditional material and personal experience, this book integrates the wisdom of Sufism with the needs of contemporary life.Â Living PresenceÂ offers a wisdom that is both universal and practical. It shows how we can bring spirituality and psychology into a balanced system that honors and awakens the soul.Â Â Â â€œI am pleased to give Living Presence a high recommendation: It is sober, thoughtful, and well worth deep reflection. Helminski is concerned with out interactions with each other, with culti...

Original Arabic, transliteration and translation. It is said that the author of Dala'il ul-Khayrat,Imam Muhammad al-Jazuli, went on a journey. He found himself in great need of water for making ablutions required before prayers. He came upon a well but could not reach the water far below, as there was no bucket and rope. He became very worried . A young girl saw this and came to his assistance. She spat into the well whereupon the water rose to the top of its own accord. Seeing this miracle, he asked the girl, "And how is that possible?" She replied "I was able to do this due to my invoking excessive blessings upon Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be Allah's blessings and peace." Having thus seen the benefit of invoking blessings upon the Prophet, Imam Jazuli decided to write Dala'il ul-Khayrat. In it, he compiled litanies invoking peace and blessings upon the Prophet. It is by far the most popular and universally-acclaimed collection of prayers upon the Prophet, used throughout the Muslim world and recited indiv...

Sacred Laughter of the Sufis: Awakening the Soul with the Mulla's Comic Teaching Stories and Other Islamic Wisdom

Manufacturer: SkyLight Paths

A first-of-its-kind combination of the legendary wisdom stories of Islam's great comic foil with spiritual insights for seekers of all traditionsâ€•or none."We would do well to heed the Mulla's wisdom. One day, inevitably, our personal storms will not abate before causing destruction. Something will break our hearts and cause us to ask deeper questions. At that point we will become spiritual seekers, each in our own way.... We will begin to hear deep inside the mysterious calling of our soul to fulï¬ll the purpose for which we were created."â€•from the chapter "The Storms in Our Lives"The mythical Mulla Nasruddin is a village simpleton and sage rolled into one. His wisdom stories, timeless and placeless, emanate from a source beyond book learning, and contain several layers of meaning.In this unique presentation, Imam Jamal Rahman weaves together spiritual insights with the Mulla's humorous teaching stories and connects them to the issues at the heart of the spiritual quest. Addressing such topi...

The Purity of Desire: 100 Poems of Rumi

Manufacturer: Penguin Books

The first full-length volume of Rumiâ€™s cherished verse by bestselling poet Daniel Ladinsky Renowned for his poignant renderings of Hafizâ€™s mystical texts, Daniel Ladinsky captures the beauty, intimacy, and musicality of another of Islamâ€™s most beloved poets and spiritual thinkers. In collaboration here with Nancy Owen Barton, and with learned insight and a delicate touch, they explore the nuances of desireâ€”that universal emotionâ€”in verse inspired by Rumiâ€™s love and admiration for his companion and spiritual teacher, Shams-e Tabriz. These poems thoughtfully capture the compelling wisdom of one of Islamâ€™s most revered artistic and religious voices and one of the most widely read poets in the English language.